october

  You know how we keep saying this is the best time of the year for beer and wine lovers?  We do, because it is!  It's not only a gorgeous time to experience all of southern California's unique and unforgettable beauty without contending with too much crowding and traffic, but it's also harvest time, when the grapes are squeezed and the hops are threshed.   This is also when great events take place for those who love their wine and beer.  One such happening is Oktoberfest, a loosely-knit series of beer festivals.  There's the huge one in Munich, which draws at least 6 million visitors a year (!) and then the various local Oktoberfests that showcase local brews all over the world.  We like those better, because not only do you save yourself hundreds to thousands of dollars in airfare, we…

Halloween is coming, so don your masks and grab your bags and get ready for some old-fashioned trick-or-treating!  If you want a real treat, though, join us on one of our many craft beer or winery events, such as one of our guided walking tours through San Diego. There are many good reasons to learn about craft beer and local wine, not just because San Diego offers such an exciting array of both, but also because the more we learn about beer and wine, the more we appreciate them!   This month is particularly interesting, especially in light of the great pumpkin beer debates, because the history of Halloween in the United States is also wrapped up in its long tradition of pumpkin beer. You see, when the first pilgrims settled in the vast sweeps of what was now called…

We at San Diego Beer and Wine Tours would like to take a moment to address a serious issue, and one that is far more common than it should be: breast cancer. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. While everybody knows that cancer in general is a scourge and that breast cancer disproportionately affects women (yes, it affects men too!) what people don't know is how to detect the warning signs early or what they should do once they've discovered something irregular.  The National Breast Cancer Foundation is an excellent resource and guide, as is the national Department of Health and Human Resource's site.   There are also many other websites that provide information or collect donations to spread awareness and do research to prevent breast cancer.  Here are a few: Pink For October, Breast Cancer Awareness, and the Centers…

We've said this before, again and again, but San Diego's best and most underrated season really is autumn. It's when the leaves on the trees change color, the low sun makes the water in the harbor look extra sparkly, and all the harvest activities are happening! One of our absolute favorite autumn events is Oktoberfest. This Bavarian beer festival was first held to celebrate the wedding of Crown Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese in 1810, and quickly became a tradition. But you don't have to make a pilgrimage to Bavaria to enjoy Oktoberfest. San Diego, with its glorious craft beer scene, has taken the traditional Oktoberfest and given it a unique regional flair. Best of all, you can find them all over the county, from La Mesa in the east to Encinitas in the northwest, each chock-full of all the best…